This article reflects information as of 2020. For the latest details, please contact us.
Written by: Tomohiro Koizumi, Representative Director, tentus inc.
In my experience, there are about three points to watch for especially with government websites.
They're usually stated clearly at the public-notice stage, so companies considering producing a government website would do well to prepare items 1–3 below in advance.
Point 1. Staff Can Update It Easily
With government websites, there aren't many "build it and you're done" projects like campaign sites.
For that reason, so that the client's staff can update easily, in most cases the premise is the introduction of a CMS (content management system) that can be updated even without website production experience.
There are many CMSs in the world, but there aren't many that satisfy the other two points I'll describe next — so please remember that the "government + CMS" options are surprisingly narrow.
Point 2. Achieving High Accessibility
Government agencies, as public institutions, demand a very high level of web accessibility.
Specifically, in most cases the premise is conformance to web accessibility based on JIS X 8341-3:2016 (title: "Guidelines for older persons and persons with disabilities — Information and communications equipment, software and services — Part 3: Web content").
Most of those standards also require conformance to Level AA (double-A) of JIS X 8341-3:2016, and depending on the CMS you introduce, there are many where this AA simply cannot be achieved on a system level.
For web accessibility, I think it's good to work on it after learning "why is accessibility important?" at the following site.
Web Accessibility Infrastructure Committee https://waic.jp/
Point 3. Ensuring Strong Security
Security is a hot topic lately, and there are CMSs that can be easily tampered with, or that place unnecessary load on the server.
There are all sorts of CMSs in the world, but they basically fall into two categories: 【dynamic page generation type】 and 【static page output type】.
The dynamic page generation type is a system where, each time a user accesses a page, communication with a database occurs and the page is generated. For example, to display text like "Welcome! Mr. Koizumi!" on My Page, you need to communicate with the database that stores the information "Koizumi" and generate the page containing that information.
Because this connects to the database every time, it inevitably becomes weaker security-wise, and for the same reason the server can become heavy when access concentrates — so it isn't much preferred for government websites, which demand high security.
By contrast, the static page output type generates pages as HTML in advance after content is registered in the CMS.
Interactive content becomes harder to build, but even in the unlikely event of an attack, what's published on the server is only already-known information, so damage can be kept to a minimum.
This is a format often adopted not only for government sites but also for sites of international summits, sports events, and the like, which are frequently attacked at the server level.
Summary
Various options arise depending on the conditions, but when considering building a government website, choosing a CMS that can satisfy the three points — 【can be updated without production knowledge】, 【supports accessibility】, and 【static page output type】 — lets you avoid various risks.
Of course, there are cases where you use the dynamic-generation type, and content that requires login runs on a dynamic mechanism to begin with, so you need to handle those parts flexibly.
For example, if you build all pages without using a CMS, the project difficulty drops sharply — so at the requirements-definition stage, please consider introducing the appropriate system in light of the client's update frequency and content.
At tentus we've built many government websites and sites for international sporting events, so if you're considering a project like this, please do get in touch.